Born Too Soon: Global epidemiology of preterm birth and drivers for change

PROGRESS: There has been no measurable change in global preterm birth rates in the past decade, in any region. A handful of countries have reduced their preterm birth rates, but only marginally (0.5 percentage points annually), and there has been little progress in availability of preterm birth data globally. An estimated 13.4 million (95% credible interval (CrI): [12.3, 15.2 million]) newborns were preterm or "born too soon" in 2020, 9.9% (95% CrI: [9.1, 11.2%]) of births worldwide. Preterm birth complications remained the top cause of under-5 child mortality globally in 2022, accounting for about 1 million neonatal deaths, similar to figures a decade ago. More encouragingly, some countries have improved data…